25 Days of Style: a Fashion Blog series -- Day 20

     Day 20 and we're finally on the homestretch. Today's blog series touches on a very important subject which is Fashion and Style Do's and Don'ts. Let me start by saying this, pay attention because this is really important -- there are definite fashion and style felonies and beyond atrocious looks (they do exist) but you have to differentiate that from certain styles and pieces that doesn't necessarily work for you. Does that make sense? 

     To clarify, Amanda Brooks, who wrote I Love Your Style said that, there may be things that are not right for you, but it's almost impossible to rule anything out for everybody. Even if you can't pull something off, chances are someone else can. And that's what's great about personal style. For instance: having your thong peek through your low rise jeans will never be classy and a definite style felony, the same goes with exposed nipples, denim cut offs that are so short that your ass cheeks are showing, and designer knock-offs -- so not chic (Sorry for the blunt and vulgar language but I'm trying to make a point.) All of those are definitely fashion and style DON'Ts. 

     So called fashion and style "rules" on the other hand (like the ones you hear on fashion police type shows, which I don't like to watch because all they do is bash celebrities on television like they've never made fashion blunders before. We're all human.) are meant to be broken like: Not wearing white after Labor Day (Who really cares?), you shouldn't wear brown with black (Rubbish, tell that to Burberry), you should always match your purse to your shoes (Excuse me? Are all of my shoes and purses from the same color palette family? No.), twin sets are never chic (Uhm, have you seen the styles of Jackie O and Grace Kelly?), mid-driffs are a no-no (Tell that to the resurgence of the trend which keeps recycling back to style. If you can pull it off, I say go for it.) My point is, there are style felonies that no woman should ever commit, because let's face it, you want to be perceived as a lady and not a tramp. But at the same time, so called "fashion rules" that you hear about all the time are complete rubbish. Just because it doesn't look good on you doesn't mean the same applies to everyone else. Just remember that we're all different -- our styles, tastes, and body shapes greatly differ from one another -- no one woman is the same. 

     Do you remember when everyone once said that pink and red never looks good together since the two colors come from the same immediate color family? And the moment that Emma Stone came out in a Giambattista Valli pink and red number on the red carpet and Sarah Jessica Parker in a similar look by wearing a Prabal Gurung blouse and pants outside of David Letterman, every self-proclaimed fashion police was immediately retracting their initial statement about the color combination.  And that's the theme of today's look -- breaking so-called style and fashion rules. To start off, I've paired this pink polka dot Zac Posen dress with red tights (don't confuse them with leggings which are footless and what you usually see worn at the gym) and peep toe wedge espadrilles. I once heard that you shouldn't wear tights with peep toe styled shoes, but whoever came up with that has never seen the work of Eric Daman on Gossip Girl and never flipped through a J.Crew Fall/Winter catalogue. Colored tights on a peep-toe, t-strap shoe is the cutest thing ever. And to mimic the color of the wedges, I've paired the look with a simple cardigan for an extra layer of warmth on this wishy-washy winter weather that we've been having. 

     So lesson learned? DON'T make style blunders, but DO break fashion and style rules -- as contradicting as that may sound. Fashion is so fun and can be a great outlet for play and fantasy, so don't let these self-proclaimed fashionistas tell you what you shouldn't wear and how you should wear certain things. They're probably just bitter that they can't pull off a mid-driff look as good as you can. 

Love, KB

tights with peep-toed shoes

dress by Zac Posen for Target

cardigan in a light blade green by J.Crew 

red tights by Express 

vintage wedges espadrilles